Kohler's Bakery: A Tradition of Excellence

In 1949, Avalon, NJ was a sleepy sea-side town without much
more than a bar, a hotel and a real estate office. When Mr. &
Mrs. Kohler decided to open a bakery in such a small community,
there were those that scoffed at the idea. Well, the naysayers
were quickly proved wrong. The Kohler's sold out their very
first weekend! After that it didn't take long for the word to
spread about the new bakery in town that was serving up
delicious homemade buns and donuts.

The Kohler's retired after seventeen years and sold the
business to Mr. Kohler's young apprentice and his wife, Bernie &
Marcia Bischoff. The Bischoffs originally planned to own the
business for five years. Twenty-five years later, they decided
it was time to retire.

In 1991 the Bischoff's turned the ovens over to the brother
and sister team of Mary and Martin McNamara. Both had worked for
the Bischoff's as teenagers and learned the business from the
ground up. But after five years, Martin decided to leave the
wonderful world of baking for an advanced degree at the
University of Pennsylvania. (We really are the best educated
bakery around.)

At a weak moment in 1995, Mary's sister Christina decided
that getting up at 3am might not be so bad and signed up to be
Mary's new partner.

This brings us to 2015, where we find the fourth generation of owners,
Katie Crompton and Colleen Quinn-Maxwell. These two friends have worked
side by side for over 12 years in the bakery, and now continue
Kohler's long tradition of excellence.

Katie Crompton grew up in Southampton, Bucks County, PA and has
always loved spending time in Avalon. She would enjoy stopping
at Kohler’s with her family to get some “crumb buns,” not
realizing that someday she would own the business! As it turned
out, she starting working at the bakery at age 16 for her
cousins, Mary and Christina McNamara. Kate was happy to be part
of the “Best Buns in the Sun” crew. After graduating from
Messiah College with a BA, her dream of having her own business
came true with the retirement of her mentor cousins. She was
thrilled to be the new and 4th in line of Kohler’s owners with
friend Colleen. Katie is married to Greg Crompton. She has
two stepsons, Andrew and Michael, a four-year-old son,
Matthew, and a one-year-old daughter, Emily. In the off-season, Katie works at the accounting
firm Kreischer-Miller in Horsham, PA.

As a lifelong resident of Avalon, Colleen's ties to Kohler's
Bakery extend further back than just her enjoyment of their
cream donuts when she was just a little girl. During the summer
of 1952, her grandparents rented the apartment above the old
bakery and hardly a day went by that "buns" didn't grace the
family's table that year or any subsequent year. Following in
her brother Chris' path of being the Inquirer paper boy in front
of Kohler's, then moving into the bakery as a baker's assistant,
Colleen, at age eleven, was the "paper girl" for several years
before becoming a Kohler's "store girl" for twelve years. Now,
as a co-owner in the business, she intends to continue to bake
up Kohler's traditional recipes so that Avalon's families of
today can share in its history. Colleen currently teaches Health
and Physical Education at Lower Moreland High School, and is
also a certified athletic trainer. She is married to Jon
Maxwell and has a three-year-old son, Chase Patrick, and a new
baby born December 1, 2014, Cohen Robert.

And that brings us to today...2015 is Kohler's 66th year in
business. Although a few new products have been added and a new
building replaced the original in 1980, the recipes, baking
methods and friendly service have not changed and you can still
find customers waiting in line on the corner of 27th & Dune
Drive for the cinnamon buns and cream donuts that they remember
from their childhood.

Why not visit our store? Or if you're too far away, take a
look at our product list and order some buns today!